A Program in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Tag Archives: medical profession

I believe that my personal discovery of the field of medical anthropology, though occurring relatively late in my time at university, has nonetheless been one of the most influential aspects of the liberal arts education that I attained at UNC. And though the readings from my med anth classes reached far and wide in content, one text in particular from a class with Professor Rivkin-Fish continues to stand out with rippling effects in my life: …And a Time to Die. How American Hospitals Shape the End of Life by Sharon Kaufman.

Kaufman’s book grapples with a topic that is by its very nature innumerable shades of grey in every respect. How do we think about death? How do we think about others’, our own, as a concept, or as an acute reality? How are specific ways of dying created and promoted in the American hospital setting? What sociocultural, political, and economic factors play into creating these paths and guiding (or forcing) people along them? How much of the decision process do you want responsibility for, or do you think you should be responsible for, in another’s death? In your own? How do you want to die? When? Where? Why do people think they can ultimately have a real choice when it comes to these questions? I hadn’t honestly thought in depth about many of these ideas before coming in contact with Kaufman’s book. My major take away from the text: death is an invaluable discussion to have with friends and family during life and any time is the right time. In respect to life and death, I personally believe that ignoring the inevitability of the later can truly detriment one’s experience of the former.